Framingham, MA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Framingham City Code § 373-4 defines POLITICAL SIGN as 'a sign pertaining to a candidate for a political office, to a ballot question associated with an election or to any political issue.' Section 373-3A requires a permit for all exterior signs and interior window signs as a general rule, but § 373-5 lists the exceptions, and political signs are one of them alongside government and nonprofit flags, the American flag, roadwork signs, small real estate signs under six square feet, and residential signs. That means a resident or candidate can post a political sign in the City of Framingham without applying to the Building Commissioner for a sign permit or paying a permit fee, unlike a business sign, which needs a permit under § 373-11.

The ordinance does not set its own size limit, placement setback, or removal deadline specific to political signs; those signs simply fall outside the permitting and dimensional-regulation scheme in §§ 373-9 and 373-10 that applies to permitted commercial signage. General sign enforcement in § 373-13 remains available for other categories of noncompliant signage, with the Building Commissioner able to order removal of an illegal temporary sign within 24 hours or fine $300 per day, and permanent-sign violations following a 30-day notice-and-cure process before a $300-per-day fine and possible District Court action under § 373-15. Because political signs are exempt from the permit requirement altogether, those enforcement provisions do not reach a sign that meets the § 373-4 definition.